Ferreira lauds late Shroff's temperament

Twice World amateur billiards champion Michael Ferreira Friday paid glowing tributes to seven-time national snooker champion Shyam Shroff, who passed away in Bombay on Wednesday following a brief illness.

Ferreira, one of the all-time great Indian cueists, said Shroff, a two-time quarter-finalist in the World amateur snooker championship, had exemplary temperament, was a very good tactician and possessed a strong knowledge of angles.

"It has been mentioned in the reports that Shroff was a contemporary of Wilson Jones (India's first World billiards champion). But it is wrong. He was my contemporary. We started our careers almost at the same time. He was also a very good billiards player and we have had some memorable battles (in the three-ball game)," Ferreira said.

He added: "He shifted his focus to snooker as he felt it was very difficult to beat Jones in billiards.

"Shroff's strategy and safety were his strengths. He was also a good potter, but did not have sufficient cue power and his screw-back at a distance was a bit weak."